All Graphic Design students visited the National History Museum for a college trip, while we were not there to see the giant, and impressive whale skeleton, I knew I had to document it because I have always wanted to see it! Now I have proof!
Our main reason for visiting the National History Museum was to look at the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Exhibition. However, we did run into an issue as, due to copyright law, we were unable to take photographs of our favourite pieces. Some people instead found the images online, but my group of friends decided to take up the awesome postcard deal on offer in the giftshop. So, to insure that I cause no legal problems, I have not only included the photographs used on the postcards, but also included the backs to convey that the images are not mine and express the information for the photograph and photographer!
On the information sheet that Sancha sent out to us, it was said that we needed to undertake VTS on at least five photos – 3 that I liked, and 2 that I didn’t find that interesting. With the last 2 photos we are expected to re-think our original views and see if our perception of the photographs has changed. Why didn’t these have the ‘wow factor’ initially? I have 9 postcards and 2 bookmarks, I have not yet decided which ones I want to use for VTS!
What is going on here?
I love this photograph and would easily class it as one of my favourites (and not just because it has my favourite animal in it)! The photograph itself is very beautiful and clearly catches the elephant in its prime, the elephant can be seen reaching for a branch to chew and the surroundings seem to be quite empty, portraying a more peaceful effect on the viewer.
What do you see that makes you think that?
I believe that the images portray a more peaceful atmosphere due to the lack of other animals within the scene, not only this, but the elephant is seen to be on its own – which is typically rare for an elephant because they normally travel in herds. In addition to this, the actual lighting within the scene is incredibly stunning, how the light falls through the leaves and the bright orange/yellow sky is one that depicts a more tranquil setting, due to the bright oranges and yellows, I would make the assumption that this photograph was either taken at sunrise or sunset.
What more can you find?
On closer inspection on the photograph, the elephant seems to have a branch already captured within their trunk, and seems to pulling down to break the branch off. This simple act that an elephant does on a daily basis is one that implies great power and strength for the animal. As well as this, the composition of the photograph conveys the height of the animal very clearly, eventhough the lower half of the elephant is well hidden, the elephant is still able to reach up the majority of the length of a tree to grab its food. Moving away from the photograph and looking at the small explanation that the photographer has written, I can see that my earlier assumption of the time was correct, it was indeed sunset when the photographer took this beautiful photograph. However, the answer for ‘why the Elephant is on their own?’ is because this elephant was photographed in a park, a park that originally held 2,200 elephants but sadly lost many due to the high demand of their meat and ivory – now the park has 650, but the number is slowly growing.
What is going on here?
I was instantly drawn to this photograph due to the comical representation so easily captured. Within the photograph, you can easily see that a racoon has found an interesting look out spot within an abandoned car, which has the perfect size hole for the racoon to stick its head through – a lucky break!
What do you see to that makes you think that?
The photograph itself is a very easy one to read and understand, when I first looked at the scene I originally though the racoon was stuck, it’s only due to the small explanation from the photographer that I learnt more about the photograph. When you first look at the scene the racoon’s head is one of the main draws for the viewer, its only when you start to look outwards that you start to see the abandoned vehicle and the beautiful surrounding nature – this represents a very strong contrast between man made and the natural, and implies that the natural element(s) are stronger than the man made due to the fact that the car is falling apart.
What more can you find?
As I mentioned above, the photograph is rather simple to read and understand, I only found more pieces of information from reading the photographers explanation. The location for the photograph was on a deserted farm and the racoon seemed to be poking its head through the safety glass of a 1970s Ford Pinto (I know nothing about cars)! But the most interesting piece of information for this photograph was the last sentence “In the back seat are her five kits, inaccessible to coyotes”, now the positioning of the racoon makes sense, at first glance you see this photograph as a piece of humour, I never thought about the possibility that this racoon could be using the car as a safe place for herself and her children – it changes the tone of the entire photograph!
What is going on here?
At first glance, I can see a duo of owls perched togther on the stump of a tree. I would assume that the owl on the right would be a male and the smaller owl would be female due to their positionings. Immediately, the viewer is drawn to the scene of the owls because of the strong depth of field.
What do you see to that makes you think that?
My assumption of the owls comes from their positionings, the owl on the right gives off the impression of a male because of his rigid and strong stance that seems to loom over the second owl in a protective and loving nature. As for the owl on the left, I would assume that this owl is a female because she gives into the protective nature of the male and insures herself to be smaller to fit under the care of the males stance. As for the depth of field, I would say that it was a photographers choice to include because it strengthens the attention onto the owls, not only this, but the background of ‘blurred’ colour is eyecatching in its own way because the colours of green, yellow and orange help to highlight the owls because they do not blend in with the colours of the owls.
What more can you find?
Looking at the photograph in a deeper sense, I soon realised that the photograph actually contained three owls – under the wing of the female owl you can see a little bundle of fur hiding under the mothers wing. While this doesn’t change my first assumption of the two adult owls, I do think that they are now doing more than perching on the stump. Because of the addition of a baby owl, I think the father has been off hunting for food, and the mother has stayed to look after the baby and encourage it to eat once the father returns with his bounty. The scene all together does convey a more family based tone and with the addition of the photographers explanation, I can now understand the protective nature of both parents – this baby owl is the one survivor of a clutch of three – and they want to insure that they don’t loose their last offspring.
What is going on here?
I love this photograph! It is such a beautiful and charming aspect of penguin life to witness, and the fact that the sense of unity is being represented through baby penguins makes it all the much cuter! Within this scene you witness a collection of baby penguins gathered together to keep the warmth in the centre – an adorable little fluff ball gathering!
What do you see to that makes you think that?
The entirety of the photograph is made up from a collection of baby penguins, which highlights the importance of comradery, due to the extreme cold and lack of parents within this photograph it was up to the baby penguins to figure out how to keep the warmth within their circle. On a deeper level, this photograph expresses how smart these little creatures are, and stresses the importance of how penguins work together and how dependant they are on each other.
What more can you find?
From taking a closer inspection of the photograph, I can see just how cold it is for the baby penguins because the ice and snow clings to their feathers. In addition to this, I can also see a small penguin braving the cold by lifting his head up from the collective group, this small movement does give the photograph more personality because this little penguin is being curious about the surrounding area as he is unable to see anything other than other penguins. However, there wasn’t much more I could find in the photograph, it was only by reading the photographers explanation that I learnt more information. I was always curious to why there were no adult penguins in this formation, it turns out that they were instead away fishing, and it’s because of a temperature drop that the penguins acted quickly. The formation started with just a few chicks sticking their heads together, and in minutes the formation had increased to 50 or more.
What is going on here?
I was immediately drawn to this photograph due to action of the eagle that had been captured with a beautiful landscape background. The photograph depicts a very strong bird in the midst of swooping down to capture something, the frozen action from the eagle is incredibly eyecatching and the strong contrast between the dark and light colours is very striking!
What do you see to that makes you think that?
At first, I was drawn to the eagle, the strength and power conveyed from his movement is very appealing. However, I soon moved on to focus on the rest of the scene, which in itself was very striking. Above I mentioned the contrasting colours of dark and light within the background was very impressive, and with more attention paid to the background, the more I think this is true. Not only this, but the background contains various different shades of blue which can be seen as a representation of calm, this in itself is a striking contrast between the fierce action presented through the eagles motion. With the idea of contrast in my head, I did start to think about the positioning of the branch, due to the wide expanse of scenery was the branch placed there as a piece of attraction for the great bird to use?
What more can you find?
Most of what I noticed I spoke about above, but once I started to take in the scene as a complete photograph, I soon realised that the eagle, while it looks impressive and dangerous, was only reaching out for the branch to perch on – an anticlimatic resolution! Instead, I focused on the explanation offered on the back of the postcard and I was shocked! The branch that the eagle lands on was specially placed by the photographer to be used as a camera-trap. It took the eagle three years to get used to the set up and use the branch regularly.
What is going on here?
When I first looked at this photograph I struggled to see the animal within the scene. I intially thought that the sloth pictured was just an addition to the branch, it wasn’t until someone pointed out the creature that the image made sense to me. The overall image is quite simple, it captures the lifestyle of a sloth but the scene itself seems to have more life than the sloth!
What do you see to that makes you think that?
Sloths are mostly known for their slowness of movement and for spending most of their lives hanging upside down in the trees, basically sloths are quite lazy! And because the sloth in the photograph is seen to be doing nothing but trying to find its food, I do believe that the actual surroundings are more lively than the sloth. For example, the addition of fog mixed in with the scenery does portray a more energetic and exciting background, which contrasts greatly with the attributes of a sloth!
What more can you find?
Focusing further on the actual scenery, the contrast between visible and less visible branches is quite intriquing because it highligts a more layered/3D effect, especially when you look at the trees further in the background which seem to generate more space than there should be because of the obtrusive fog. When I started to look through the explanation left by the photographer, I realised that this photograph was under a different category when compared to the other photographs/postcards. The photographer fell into the category of Young Wildlife Photographers: 11 to 14 years old, and to have their photograph presented within the National History Museum at such a young age is a very high achievement!
What is going on here?
When I first looked at this photograph, I originally thought that it was just the environment of a jungle animal, it did take me longer than I would care to admit to spot the jaguar hidden within the centre of the photograph. The photograph itself is rather simple, and depicts a jungle cat watching its prey in a very dangerous manner.
What do you see to that makes you think that?
I originally saw the photograph as a piece of scenery because the scenery took up the entire photograph, it was like a ‘Where’s Wally?‘ page because the photograph itself is so vibrant and eyecatching, I seemed to focus more on the nature elements rather than the search for the animal. I think the photograph is one that happened naturally, especially due to the expression on the jaguars face which seems to treat the camera as its dinner (i’m assuming it is another camera trap that managed to capture this photograph).
What more can you find?
When taking a closer look at the photograph I soon learnt how effective the camoflage of a jaguar actually is. The bright yellow/orange fur blends in well with the natural green colouring of the environment, the black marks on the fur also adds to the camoflage because it breaks the bright gold fur up into a more darker and less visible attraction. From reading the explanation from the photographer, I soon found out that the jaguar was found in its natural territory, it was not in a protective park enclosure, instead the jaguar had access to an incredible amount of land, which makes this photograph so special because the photographer set up 8 camera traps on the jaguars well known paths, but it took the photographer three months to obtain this beautiful photograph.
I liked both of these postcards, the humour in the first and the bright colours in the second was very eye-catching but I don’t remember seeing either of these photographs in the actual exhibition, maybe they were last years entries or a ‘most purchased’ postcard so the National History Museum decided to keep them for customers.
While looking round the gift shop for different postcards, we also came across a selection of bookmarks, and I knew instantly that I wanted the cute penguin photograph (because it is my favourite one from the exhibition), which was not included in the postcard display! Again, I have included the backs of the bookmarks to insure I am safe from any copyright laws!
All in all, I think the trip to the National History Museum was quite interesting, not only because I saw the giant whale skeleton (I can check that off my bucket list)! But because the overall experience within the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Exhibition clearly expressed the ‘wow’ factor and helped with offering ideas of how we could use the ‘wow’ factor within our work, wether it be for the group project now or for future projects.
Baxter's Designs 